PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) 鈥� Haiti's prime minister said Tuesday that he plans to hold a referendum to modify the country's constitution by February, and he hopes to organize presidential and legislative elections early next year.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Ariel Henry dismissed opponents who accuse him of wanting to stay in power and said that mistrust is one of the biggest challenges he faces.
The referendum is a priority, Henry said, because the current constitution is rejected by a majority of political figures and civil society leaders. He said an electoral council that will be responsible for setting dates has yet to be named after he recently dissolved the previous provisional council.
鈥淭he elections must be held as soon as possible,鈥� he said as he lamented the lack of trust among Haitians. 鈥淧eople don't believe what is 小蓝视频 said.鈥�
After 小蓝视频 postponed several times this year, presidential and legislative elections were scheduled to be held Nov. 7, along with the constitutional referendum. But the assassination of President Jovenel Mo茂se at his private home on July 7 upended those plans.
One proposed constitutional change would bar a president from serving more than two terms, although it does not specify whether those would be consecutive, as stated in the current constitution. Other changes include compulsory military service for those age 18, the creation of a vice presidential position to replace that of prime minister and establishing a unicameral legislature to replace the current Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
Thousands protested in the streets when the referendum was first proposed, with many accusing Mo茂se of a power grab.
Henry still faces opposition to the referendum, as well as criticism from those who do not consider him a legitimate leader because he was first recognized as prime minister by the Core Group, composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
鈥淗e's a puppet,鈥� said Monique Clesca, a Haitian writer, activist and former U.N. official. 鈥淏ottom line, he has no legitimacy or credibility.鈥�
Clesca and several leaders of Haiti's civil society are calling for a two-year transitional government with a president and prime minister chosen by political parties and civil society to stabilize the country before holding elections.
鈥淲e have wanted a Haitian solution," she said. 鈥淚t is time that the international community says to us, 鈥榃e are listening,鈥� rather than push down our throat somebody that they put there.鈥�
Henry said he has always been a legitimate prime minister despite not 小蓝视频 elected, noting that Mo茂se chose him shortly before 小蓝视频 killed. He views his position as a mission to oversee a renaissance of Haitian society.
In other comments, Henry criticized how the U.S. government recently treated Haitian migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, where it expelled more than 2,300. He said that action was not 鈥渟uitable.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 understand the way that our compatriots were treated,鈥� he said.
Henry鈥檚 remarks came just hours before the arrival in Port-au-Prince of Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols, the top U.S. diplomat to Latin America, who is seeking to contain the fallout from the abrupt resignation last week of the U.S. special envoy to Haiti.
Daniel Foote, a career diplomat, quit the high-profile post over the deportations at the border, saying it was inhumane to return the migrants, many of whom fled the island following the devastating 2010 earthquake, to a country buffeted by gang violence, a collapsed economy and political turmoil.
Foote, in his resignation letter, also criticized the U.S. for standing by what he considers a 鈥渃orrupt government with gang alliances鈥� instead of embracing a broad-based coalition of civil society groups that have come up with their own blueprint for stabilizing the country.
Henry declined to comment on Foote鈥檚 resignation, saying it was a foreign affair, but he said he does not think the situation will affect the relationship between the U.S. and Haiti, which he said would continue and deepen.
Henry added that the government is working on a draft of a potential program to help the thousands of migrants who have been expelled. He said one proposal is to give the migrants access to credit so they can launch their own small businesses.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do that immediately,鈥� he said.
Another priority is to find the masterminds behind Mo茂se鈥檚 killing. Henry said he does not know why the president was slain. He also dismissed allegations made by a chief prosecutor 鈥� whom he fired 鈥� that there were two phone calls between him and a key suspect just hours after the assassination.
Henry said he has no recollection of speaking with Joseph Badio, who was fired from the government鈥檚 anti-corruption unit in May and remains a fugitive, according to police, who seek him on charges including murder.
鈥淚f that conversation took place, I do not remember it,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me, that conversation never happened.鈥�
Henry said he dismissed Port-au-Prince鈥檚 chief prosecutor, Bed-Ford Claude, and former Justice Minister Rockfeller Vincent, because they did not respect the law and tried to politicize the situation.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have any ethics, and they are not credible,鈥� he said.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Goodman reported from Washington.
D谩nica Coto, Joshua Goodman And Pierre-richard Luxama, The Associated Press
